EXPLORATORY USE OF CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN LIVER TRANSPLANTATION; A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR PREOPERATIVE CARDIO-HEPATIC EVALUATION

Abstract

Introduction Preoperative cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification in liver transplant (LvTx) candidates has proven challenging due to limitations of current noninvasive modalities. Additionally, the evaluation can be cumbersome and expensive given the need for separate cardiac, vascular and abdominal imaging. Over the last decade cardiovascular MRI (CMR) has emerged as the ‘gold standard’ for many important CV metrics used to define such risk due to its unparalleled spatial resolution, lack of ionizing radiation and intrinsic 3D capabilities.